Perfect Summer
by vanicent
Summary: Rated T for future safety, this is my first fic, so be nice! it's Sousuke and kaname's first summer as a couple. should be filled with all sorts of mayhem
1. An bitter start

Hey guys this is my first fanfic, I just love FMP and thought i'd give it a try, this is set to take place after the series, (including fumoffu), and assumes that Kaname and Sousuke are finally a couple.

Disclaimer:I don't own Full Metal Panic, any of it's characters, nor have any interest in any organizations that have ownership of it. I just like the story.

It was a small beach, but it had it's pluses. For one; it was Private, that alone was a blessing, it wasn't natural either. White sand had been imported just for this beach, replacing the rocky sand that originally was here. It was surrounded by trees and rock walls, making it very quiet, aside from the roar of the ocean that is. Unfortunately the peace was about to be broken. With multiple cheers and shouts of joy, a small group of teenagers burst onto the scene, finally having finished the 2 mile hike to get down to the private beach they had been lucky enough to have gotten permission to use for their first week of summer vacation.

It had all been thanks to Ren, well, Sousuke as well if you really wanted to be honest. Ren's father had allowed her and her friends the use of the beach for their first week of summer vacation as a reward for the assistance of Bonta-Kun, who was in fact Sousuke Sagara, crazy otaku military maniac, aka Sergent of Mithril. He was also the boyfriend Kaname Chidori, the girl he was assigned to protect. Not that anyone with half a brain would say his name around her at the moment. The blue haired girl trudged down to the spot where all her friends had dropped their bags in one big pile, before running off to play in the water before lunch. She sat down underneath a large beach umbrella that had been setup, and let out a long depressed sigh, followed by a whispered name, barely audible.

"Sousuke"

She fought back the tears that had threatened to overtake her again. Memories of their last conversation flooded back unbidden.

_She was doing the dishes after making dinner, trying to ignore the thoughts tugging at the back of her mind. Sousuke had received a phone call in the middle of their dinner together, a regular tradition for the two. After excusing himself he went out on the balcony to speak with whoever had called him. Of course she knew who had called him, who other than Mithril that would put such a look on his face. He had gone from the new Sousuke that was emerging to the the otaku Sousuke in less than a heartbeat._

"_Kaname" he said gently as he walked in._

"_you have a mission don't you." she had cut him off, not a question, a statement._

"_Affirmative, my pickup is en route, i need to go get ready."_

"_How long will you be gone? Our vacation starts this Saturday!" It was wednes_day.

"_As long as all goes as planned I should be back by Thursday afternoon"_

"_Well then you'd better go pack you big idiot! Just don't you dare be late for OUR vacation! I've really been looking forward to this! Don't you dare mess it up for us!"_

_That had been harsher than she meant, but she was too angry to apologize._

"_Understood, it is not a problem"  
And with that he was gone._

_**Thursday night.**_

_Kaname was mad, really mad, actually, pissed would be a better description._

"_ooooooh where is he! He better not have been sidetracked by some new pistol or Arm slave or other stupid otaku stuff!" Her anger was the only defense she had against the fear inside, the fear that threatened to rip her heart to pieces._

_Just then her cell phone rang. Recognizing the number, rather the lack of a number on the caller id, she hit talk immediately, and started her lecture._

"_Sousuke! Why aren't you back yet! Why are you only calling me now! You'd better have a REAL good explanation soldier!" She was stopped mid lecture by the voice she heard on the otherside._

"_Miss Chidori, this is Lt. Cmdr. Kalinin, I wanted to be the one to inform you as to Sergent Sagara's tardiness." there was and audible sigh on the other side of the line, her heart sunk as she heard this, it wasn't the first time she had received this kind of call, but it made it no less unbearable._

"_We lost contact with Sergent Sagara about 14 hours ago. It is believed he was captured, we are attempting to locate his position now, I will keep you updated."_

_with that he gave his apologies to her, and terminated the call. Once again, Kaname Chidori's life had stopped._

_Later that night Kyoko stopped by Kaname's to see how things were going getting ready for their trip that coming weekend. When Kaname had answered the door she was shocked to see the state Kaname was in, rambling on about 'he's captured', 'they got him' 'that damn otaku'. She wasn't sure what was going on, she did understand that Sousuke had a job that called him away unexpectedly, and that it was dangerous, she didn't quite understand why he had that kind of job while in high school, but hey, he did live on his own after all. She comforted her friend as best she could and convinced her to come on the trip anyway._

"You know, I don't think he'd want you moping around like that" Kaname looked up in anger, not sure whether to be insulted by the comment or the fact that it was true.

Atsunobu and Ren were looking down at her, concern in their eyes. The Student body president and his assistant had helped Sousuke and Kaname out many times before with different situations, and had an understanding of what kind of problem Sousuke must be in, and the feeling of helplessness Kaname must be experiencing.

Looking back at the ground, Kaname muttered a few words that her friends couldn't make out.

"Stupid otaku jerk!"

Looking back up at her friends, she managed to put on a fierce face for them.

"hmmmph, When he get's back he is soooo gonna pay."

"I'm here if you need to talk Kaname...Senpai, should we look into getting lunch ready?" she had directed the question at Atsunobu.

With that they walked off, presumably to get lunch preparations under way. Kaname couldn't help but smile at them, they hid their relationship so well, but she knew better. She couldn't help but be envious. 'Why did i have to fall for an Otaku?'

'Sousuke'

'You'd better be ok'

Reminiscing again, she thought back to their first kiss. It had been so awkward. It didn't change the fact that it was one of the best day's of her life, but she couldn't help but laugh at how tense and nervous he had been. 'At least he's better about that now' she thought. She could still evoke that nervousness at will though, and she loved that having that effect on him. He could be so easily reduced into a sweating, stiff, and nervous wreck and all it took was the pressure of certain parts of her anatomy against him. His smell, the feel of his strong arms around her, the gentleness that only she got to see, those rare moments when he sounded normal, when he actually said something sweet and didn't mess it up a second later, she missed that. His mistakes, saying the wrong thing, Otaku phrases, weapons, accidents, misunderstandings. She missed those too, they were all part of him, they all made up the whole that was the man she loved, and she wanted him there with her, needed him there.

'Sousuke, you'd better come back to me'

Her cell phone ringing interrupted her musing, realizing who was calling, she answered, bracing herself for the coming conversation.


	2. The great escape

Standard disclaimer: i don't own or have any financial or legal interest in full metal panic or it's creators.

Well here comes Chapter 2! time to give Sousuke a little time in the spotlight. He's got himself a good dilemma. I need reviews! I don't know where i need to improve if you fine folks out there won't review and let me know where the story is weak!

Sousuke rubbed his wrists to help restore full circulation, the clumsy knots on his bonds had proven only a minor inconvenience.

_Kaname_

The thought had come unbidden, rebelling against his mind. _I need to focus. I can't afford to get distracted._ Pushing thoughts of his girlfriend aside, he took stock of his familiar surrounding. Yup, same hut being used as a holding cell. Same poorly trained men guarding him. _Evaluate, Plan, Act_.

There were only 10 soldiers in this small village turned guerrilla camp.

_They were lacking manpower._

They thought he was an unarmed, stupid teenage boy who was frightened and alone.

_They were very much incorrect. He was a specialist._

They were convinced he was harmless.

_He was anything but harmless._

They thought their pathetic attempt at interrogating him had broken him.

_They had never met Kaname Chidori. This was easy._

_Kaname. _He would have to face her Halisen when he got back. He would have to face her tears as well. Neither was a positive situation. The halisen he could handle, pain was only a physical sensation, and one so accustomed to pain as him had no problem handling that. Those tears though, those inevitable tears, born out of grief and relief, left him weak. He knew he loved her, it had taken him along time to come to terms with that part of himself, but he was grateful he had.

_Those tears..._

The ones she always shed when he returned from a difficult mission. They turned this proud, strong, unassailable soldier into...something useless. It was the worst feeling he'd ever experienced, watching her cry like that. It felt like who he was threatened to just break in half, much like a bridge could with properly placed explosives. But then there was this urge, this uncontrollable urge to hold her, to make anything that made her sad, anything that made her hurt go away. How ironic that he was the one that caused her to feel that way, but he just couldn't tear himself away from her.

_Why am i so clueless around her? It seems the only time i know what I'm feeling and what i should do is when I'm in the battlefield. Do i really deserve her?_

Shaking himself of those thoughts, it was time to get to work. His body protested, bruises ached and cuts started to bleed again, they had given him no medical treatment. He was lucky, proper soldiers would have been much harsher in interrogating him. The "soldiers" outside didn't have the stomach for it. His wounds looked bad, but were relatively minor. Noting the light coming in under the door, he guessed he had about 10 minutes of light left. Perfect. Enough time to get out, get his gear, and signal the De Danaan.

He worked quickly, stretching and getting his muscles warmed up and ready for the upcoming sprint. Reaching down to his watch that his captors had foolishly left him with, he pressed the center left button and rotated the outer dial 180 degrees. 2 metal pins popped out the bottom, attached by a thin steel wire. Satisfied with his new toy, he layed back down on his cot, hands behind him as if they were still tied.

Using as pitiful and hoarse a voice as he could muster, he called out.

"Please, could i have some water?"

The 2 guards briefly conversed, then the younger one came in, armed only with a pistol, a worn looking 9mm Sig. He grabbed the canteen at his side and twisted off the top, beckoning Sousuke to sit up, he obliged the guard. Then quickly he was on his feet, his toy wrapped around the stunned guards neck so fast he couldn't get out any sound, choking him to the ground quickly and silently. The guard was dead in seconds, and Sousuke was already moving towards the door, the former guards knife in his hand. He opened the door quickly, yanking the other guard inside, knife already buried in the man's vocal cords. He died with little more than a gurgle escaping him. Grabbing the 9mm from the first guards body, and the knife from the second guards neck, he stepped out into the growing darkness of the jungle.

He was sprinting as fast as he could without being noticed by sentry's. It was only a matter of time until the bodies were discovered, and he needed to be far away.

He was weak from lack of food and water, and was short on time as well. A mile from the encampment he stopped, catching his breath, he walked over to a familiar rock. Grunting with strain Sousuke pushed it to the side. There in a shallow hole was his pack. Inside were various weapons, and equipment. He could spare about 3 minutes safely he figured before moving towards the coast. Ripping open an MRE he wolfed down a few bites, and drained the accompanying water pouch.

Sousuke grabbed his Glock and holster, attaching it to his waist, then pulled out the MP5, it would be sufficient here. Putting his pack on, he slung the machine gun strap over his shoulder, and started moving south towards the beach, and salvation. Grabbing the transmitter out of his pocket, he hit the red button on it, causing the small device to vibrate in response, confirmation that it was transmitting.

Sousuke had estimated that he had 1.5 miles to cover, In his present shape it would take him about 15 minutes to cover that, moving safely. After that it was up to his comrades to extract him. Behind him heard the alarm go up, they knew he was gone.

The rest of the escape was a blur, adrenaline had kicked in and he was on autopilot, his training taking over. He remembered a fire fight, getting hit in the shoulder,and again in the leg. Both were minor, no major organs or muscles seriously injured. Somehow he ended up on a Mithril helicopter. They were shouting something at him, and then the world went black.

He woke in the medical facilities of the De Danaan the next morning. Waking up to this sight was nothing new for him. He guessed enough at what had happened, somehow he had held off the attacking forces long enough for the rescue teams to respond.

"Awake now I see" came the strong voice of Lt Cmdr Khalinin.

"Sir!" He tried to salute, but he found his arm unable to respond properly.

"At ease soldier, your in no shape to be worried about formalities. Though there is one matter you need to attend to now."

"Sir?" he questioned as Khalinin handed him a cell phone.

"You need to call her right now, before she kills both of us."

Sousuke leaned back as far as he could, wondering for a brief moment if he should have stayed in a little hut in Vietnam.

"Sir may I ask for a little privacy?"

"No need to worry Sagara, I have no desire to hear the conversation about to take place" Sousuke gulped at that comment.

_Sousuke Sagara was afraid. He had faced Gauron, he had fought against overwhelming odds countless times. But nothing he had ever faced scared him as much as Kaname Chidori._

Dialing the number, he prepared himself for the inevitable.


	3. A reunion of sorts

Disclaimer: I don't Own full metal panic or anything affiliated with it.

A/N: Hey guys thanks for the review, I know it's been like a month since i posted a chapter, sorry bout that, I was kinda living at a hospital and I just haven't had the time or energy to write, though the majority of that should be behind me now. I know my punctuation hasn't been the best, I ask you to bear with me, I post rough drafts with no revising done to them, I plan on doing the revising and reposting of the chapters later soon, as i just discovered the books that continue on past the tv series, I was previously unaware of them and will rework my story a bit to accommodate the added history of the characters.

"15 minutes till drop point Sir!" called out the transport helicopter pilot.

"Roger" came Sousuke's curt reply. He looked down at his leave paperwork, still in shock. Somehow the 1 week he had requested had turned into 4, the more amazing part was that it was actually approved. He still couldn't figure out how Cmdr. Mardukas had gotten Captain Testarossa to approve that large leave period. She still hadn't given up on "Winning" Sousuke away from Kaname. Only a month prior she had ordered more A.S. Training, on the pretense of wishing to expand her expertise. It had turned into Tessa finding any opportunity to "fall" off the A.S. In question, to be reliably caught by our unfortunate hero.

_It would take an act of God to save Tessa's life, if Kaname ever found out._

Sousuke had termed the trip as a "Training Mission" and left it at that. He touched his shoulder, good. No wetness, he had rushed through his departing preparations, bandaging the minor bullet wound to his shoulder, it was more of a graze really. He had been fortunate in his leg as well, the bullet apparently had ricocheted off of his combat knife strapped to his calf, turning what would have been a seriously injured leg into a bad bruise and minor cut. All in all he was quite lucky, the bruises would fade within a day or 2, and the bullet wounds would be healed in a week or so, thanks to Mithril's medical technology. The bruised ribs would be sore for a couple days, but were nothing to worry about. He looked at his watch, 5 minutes till he arrived at his destination, time to recheck his gear and get ready.

_I'm coming Kaname._

Kaname ran up the path on her way to the parking lot where the group's rental van was parked. Glancing at her watch, she cursed, realizing she was late. He was already on the ground probably and standing there like an idiot waiting for her. If it hadn't been for Ren's little discussion with her she wouldn't have been late, as long as she ran. She had to be strong, had to hold on to her anger, Sousuke had to be punished. He had broken one of his "Operating Parameters" as Sousuke had termed her rules.

Sousuke is not allowed to be injured. Except by Kaname. (the latter was appended a few minutes after the original creation of the rule.)

Yes, punishment first, then she would see to his wounds, something she was unfortunately well practiced in, then she would welcome him back properly. Seeing the clearing up ahead, thoughts ran threw her mind on what Ren had said to her, and how Sousuke would react.

_He better not mess this up. Correction: She better not let him mess this up._

_Kaname ran out the door and headed up the beach towards the path to the parking area. She stopped when she heard Ren calling after her._

"_Kaname!" finally stopping next to Kaname, Ren continued._

"_Hey before you go meet Sousuke I need to tell you something."She paused uncomfortably, not sure how to say it._

"_You know the Hide-a-bed that I had planned on Sousuke sleeping on? Well for some reason, it's not a Hide-a-bed anymore, well, it doesn't work like one now anyway, which left us short one bed. I spoke with Senpai, He decided the best solution would be for you and Sousuke to share a room, being the only couple here, it made sense."_

_She paused, trying to gauge Kaname's reaction. Kaname for her part was frozen solid, trying to visualize her and Sousuke in bed together. It was a depressing scene._

"_No problem Ren! Sousuke's a perfect gentleman, after all, he wounldn't know an opportunity if it punched him in the face! Ahahaha" Kaname laughed outwardly, inside she was raging. What she said was true, she had punched him in the face._

_Ren suddenly had the feeling that she shouldn't have listened to Kyoko's idea._

"_Too late now, well, Good luck Sousuke."_ _she thought to herself. "Your probably gonna need it."_

Shaking those thoughts away, she saw the object of her affections, irritations, misery, and joy, all rolled into one. Sousuke Sagara, Sergeant of Mithril, and he looked terrible.

_What you couldn't take the time to wash up before meeting your girlfriend? Jerk!_

She walked up to him, he stepped forward with a half smile on his face, expecting a greeting. He got a punch, in the face. Kaname's conflicting emotions had drained the spirit out of her punch, Sousuke barely cleared three feet of air, not even close to her personal best.

"Kaname that hurt!" he exclaimed, trying to stand up, but having difficulty Kaname noticed, much to her disappointment.

_That's not like him. Hmmmmmm_

She stepped forward to help him up, finally getting a clear look at his face in the failing daylight. She gasped, he didn't have combat paint on his face like she had thought, those were _bruises._ His lip had a slight cut, his left eye was swollen halfway shut, actually, the whole left side of his face was a bruise. Kaname now felt terribly guilty for hitting him, she had swung with her right fist naturally, contacting the left side of his face, where he was already injured.

_God I'm an idiot sometimes. _

"Sousuke are you okay? You should have told me you were injured! I woulda let you heal first you idiot!" _Smooth Chidori, real smooth..._

"It's not a problem, actually, it would have been much more painful to be stuck in the abdomen, so the face was a better choice, though I would prefer not getting struck." he replied, still struggling to stand. He was more exhausted than he had expected and probably should have rested before departing the De Danaan like the medic had recommended, but his desire to see Kaname had prevailed.

"Kaname I'm sorry to ask this, but could you help me stand? I'm quite exhausted from my last mission, I'm not sure I will be able to walk on my own either."

It embarrassed him to admit to this. She silently pulled his right arm around her shoulder, helping him stand, Sousuke was glad that she hadn't tried to grab his left arm, if his wound had bled on her she would be very angry.

"Come on soldier let's get you back to our room, then I'm gonna see to those injuries of yours."

_Please be too tired to notice, I'm not in the mood to explain it Sousuke_

"Our room kaname?" he asked with a confused look on his face.

_She didn't mean we are sharing a room? Did she? _

Kurz had told him that such a day would come when Kaname would ask him to spend the night with her. But he doubted that Kaname's intentions for this week were the same that Kurz had described. Irregardless he would need to conduct himself carefully, it was dangerous to disappoint Kaname.

"Yes Sousuke, OUR room, you know, where the bed WE are going to sleep on is? couples can share rooms sometimes. In fact, it's not unheard of for couples to WANT to be ALONE together either."

_And your gonna figure that out this week if it kills me._

The tone in her voice warned Sousuke against further questioning. He had come to understand that tone painfully, he would need to analyze her words and try to figure out what she was really trying to tell him. It was still a mystery to him why people couldn't just say exactly what they mean, but had to hide behind double meanings, innuendo, and body language that a specialist like him just simply was not equipped to understand.

They walked on in silence down the path towards the house.

"Sousuke?" Kaname paused briefly before continuing. "I really missed you, I'm sorry I hit you, I...I just hate the thought of you getting hurt!" The words came out in a rush, apologies did not come easy to Kaname.

"Do not worry about it Kaname, I did allow myself to get injured after all" He started sweating at this admission of guilt. "Of course I'll fill you in on as many of the details as I am allowed to, and Kaname...I missed you as well."Admissions of affection still did not come very easily to Sousuke, as a soldier, it was a difficult thing to admit to valuing someone more than your orders, or duty.

They finished their walk to the beach house in silence, Kaname supporting him and simultaneously leaning her head against his good shoulder, Sousuke lost in thought, still trying to understand how her touch calmed him so easily. Human emotions could be so very hard to understand. When they arrived, Kaname shooed him into their room, got him on the bed then went to the kitchen to get him something to eat. She was surprised to see Ren in their, finishing up the after dinner cleaning. 2 prepared plates with red bean paste rolls and a simple salad were sitting on the counter.

"Thought you two might be hungry" was Ren's simple explanation.

"Thanks" Kaname replied, grabbing the plates and heading back to their room.

"Kaname?"

"hmmm?"

"Don't be too hard on Sousuke, he really is trying hard." She had seen the bruises on Sousuke's face when they entered. Kaname picked up on her friends concerns instantly...

"I didn't do that to him Ren, it's all his damn job's fault!" she muttered bitterly.

Ren knew when it was time to retreat. Any talk about whatever job Sousuke had that was more important than school at times was off limits. Still, she was relieved that Kaname hadn't been the one to beat the stuffing out of him, Sousuke looked terrible.

"Ok then, good night Kaname, tell Sousuke good night for me as well."

"Ok, night Ren." came the absent minded reply, she was lost in thought.

_I wish he didn't always have to be the hero. Can't he see we all worry about him?_

They ate their meal in silence, too exhausted to talk. When they had finished, Sousuke

removed a small bottle from his bag, removed 2 small white pills, and swallowed them.

"What were those?" Kaname instantly asked. _He never takes pills._

"Vicadin, a particularly weak pain killer, but it numb's the pain of my ribs enough that I can sleep well, without hampering my ability to act if necessary."

Kaname sadly began to wonder if there would ever be a day that Sousuke could actually relax.

_I'll worry bout that later._

Noting with irritation that Sousuke was already asleep, Kaname went into the adjoining bathroom and changed into some shorts and a tank top. She wasn't wearing a bra.

_Not that he would notice._

Covering her exhausted specialist up with a light blanket, she snuggled against him gently, falling asleep.

"Ya know, it's amazing, I could chamber around in my sidearm 15 meters from the window, and Sousuke would have his gun perfectly aimed at my head before i could blink, But she can cover him with a blanket, crawl in bed and wrap herself around him, and he doesn't even fidget!" exclaimed a disbelieving Kurz Weber. "And to top it off, she's not even wearing a bra! What the hell is wrong with that guy?"

The sound of knuckles popping behind him had the hairs on his neck standing up.

"Of course, I'm only guessing she's not wearing a bra, not like I was really looking"

Melissa Mao was suddenly right behind the blonde haired sniper.

"Weber" her voice promised suffering.

_Awwww crap._


	4. The morning after

ok! here's chp4. finally finished it, sorta. it's a rough draft, but it'll have to do, as i want to move on in the story, i'll edit it later, (along with the first 3 chapters :p ) thanks for the reviews, bear with me as i know i'm slow to put out chapters, RL tends to take priority, but i will continue to try to post faster.

disclaimer: don't it Full metal panic, so leave me alone /

Sousuke woke with a start, he had heard a scream outside, a man's scream.

There it was again, muffled but the same scream heard again.

_Affirmative, that's Weber._

Trusting his instincts that whatever was the cause of Weber's problem, he deserved it, Sousuke turned his attention to the sleeping angel next to him. Opening up his eyes, he realized it wasn't a pillow his face was pressed so comfortably against. Kaname Chidori had a habit of clinging while she was asleep. It was a habit that Sousuke had come to respect overtime and even appreciate, though it did lend itself to some awkward situations. Today was no exception, at this particular moment Kaname had wrapped her arms and legs around the young soldier, effectively trapping him in a pleasant embrace in their bed.

_So soft..._

Within seconds of his revelation, Sousuke was sweating profusely. Only Kaname had this kind of effect on him, only she was able to put him into such a debilitated state, much like putty waiting to be molded into something useful. Her nocturnal maneuverer's that had resulted in this situation had also managed to hike up her tank top partially, leaving more of Kaname's form exposed than Sousuke felt authorized to view, what he had been able to make out in the dark that is. Sousuke had difficulty in suppressing his instinct to reconnoiter the unfamiliar 'terrain', such an action would invariably lead to his death, or at least a painful attempt to end his life.

_I am captured. My teammates will NOT help me. I am at her mercy. _

If he tried to remove himself, she would no doubt wake up, resulting in severe consequences. No, he would have to stay until she woke up or moved enough for him to extract himself from the situation. Still, it wasn't such a bad fate was it? Carefully shifting his face upwards, he looked into hers, the peaceful smile on her face seemed to Sousuke to be almost luminescent. He again felt the odd sensation in his stomach, as if something was fluttering around inside, his body tingling.

_Is this love?Why is it so confusing?_

It was adifficult question for the young soldier, he didn't have an answer. He thought back to a conversation with Melissa, he had asked her the question that even now confounded him.

"_Love?" she said, obviously shocked by his question. "That's hard to describe Sousuke, It's not something you can just categorize, define, and control. Why do you ask?"_

_Sousuke explained the strong feelings, impulses and confusing sensations he felt whenver he was around Kaname._

"_Hahaha Sousuke, you are too much sometimes, I've heard love described a lot of way's in my life, many times by idiots professing it for me, but i've never heard such a detailed, concise and perfectly analyzed declaration as that. If you don't know that you love her then you really are as clueless as she says you are!" came her jovial response, her body shaking with mirth._

" _I see, this is much more difficult than I previously expected. Thank you Sgt Major, I will consider your words" Saluting, Sousuke jogged off, his flight was leaving soon, he had 1 more thing to accomplish before leaving._

Doing his best to relax, Sousuke dismissed his confused thoughts and let his body go limp, the unconscious form next to him instinctively pulling him tighter into her embrace, if at all possible. Breathing in the familiar scent of her hair, he smiled. It was the same scent he had remembered from his mother, Milk and Honey it was called. Kaname had switched to that scent just for him. He found sleep again, safe in the arms of his angel. Kaname Chidori awoke only a few minutes later, had she just heard a scream?

_No, that's not possible, he'd be awake and checking his weapons with that stupid otaku look on his face. _

Breathing in the familiar smell of antibiotic ointment, she pulled him as close as possible, toying with the idea of smothering his face, until he woke up gasping for air. She smiled at the thought.

_Maybe if you behave tomorrow, good night Sousuke, I love you. I hope you'll figure out you feel the same way, cause it's obvious to me._

She wouldn't admit it but she longed to hear those 3 little words from him, 3 words that would make everything in the world right.

The Young couple slept soundly after that, comforted by each others presence. Sousuke woke up at 5am, his body being conditioned to wake up at that time every morning. He liked to start the day with exercise and reviewing intelligence reports. This morning would be an exception as he was still trapped, returning to sleep wasn't an option either. He resumed observing Kaname's face, his only other option being her chest. Staring at her face would be safe. Staring at her chest would most certainly result in injury.

Kaname stirred at 7:50am. Quite early for her, considering it was summer vacation, but she had slept well, indeed it was probably the best night's sleep she'd had in weeks, maybe it had something to do with her company. Opening her eyes, Sousuke's alert face slowly came into focus. She smiled, it felt wonderful waking up to that handsome, serious young face...

"Good morning Kaname, did you sleep well?" His question was an intrustion, a disturbance to the heaven she was feeling, comfortable under the warm sheets and nestled securely and oh so tightly against her cherished companion who even now obviously desired death. His question demanded that she wake up enough to respond, the audacity of the man!

_Stupid morning person, why do you have to ruin the mood?_

"Yeah I slept fine. What are you doing up! Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Kaname had a penchant for waking up grumpy. Today appeared to have been an exception, had one clueless specialist not ruined what had started as the perfect morning.

"I was resting, however I was also attempting to understand a phenomenon I discovered this morning about you"

"Huh?" Kaname didn't know if she should be preparing to kiss him, or kill him.

"It came to my attention this morning that while sleeping, you were smiling. After watching your smile for a short period, I came under the impression that the room was brighter, more...cheerful. You looked beautiful." Kaname smiled at this comment, rewarding him with a quick kiss.

_Things are looking good for you today Sousuke._

It is unfortunate, that despite all Sousuke's progress in his interpersonal skills, he still hadn't mastered the most important skill. When to shut up. Painfully lacking in that skill, he continued his explanation, feeling the need to explain entirely his morning's musings.

"I considered that your face might be illuminating itself such as a firefly or glow bug wou-" SMACK!

Sousuke landed with a dull thud, inches from the bathroom door.

_I swear Sousuke, one of these days I WILL beat common sense into you._

"Kaname that hur-"

"You jerk! You were saying such a nice thing to me then you end it by comparing me to a bug? What the hell is wrong with you?" her anger was in full swing at this point.

"Kaname! At least let me finish before hitting me!" He shouted in return, she would listen to him, if He didn't complete his explanation he would be in danger.

"huh?" his outburst had caught her by surprise.

"As I was saying, I decided that my hypothesis was incorrect, your much to beautiful to be related to any insects. Therefore I came to the conclusion that my feelings for you simply clouded my perception."

_One minute I love him...the next minute I love him, while trying to kill him...why me God, why me?_

"Kaname? Are you ok? You seem confused, do you need to lie down?" worry in his eyes, he moved to stand next to her, wrapping his arm around her back, he placed his hand against the small of her back and gently urged her towards the bed.

"I'm trying to decide whether to punish you, or kiss you. Tell me Sousuke, how do your wounds feel? Is it too early in your recovery to add some more?" There was no fight left in her at this point, his hand against her back had set off some electric reaction in her spine, in a flash her anger had disappeared.

"May I suggest that you kiss me?"

"Suggestion accepted" _I'll get you Sousuke Sagara...just you wait._

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It was another hour before they both were ready for breakfast, their friends had already finished breakfast, leaving a plate for each of them in the fridge, waiting to be warmed up. Kaname made Sousuke sit at the small dining table while she warmed their food up.

"Sousuke." she spoke somewhat timidly.

"Yes Kaname?"

"Are..Are going to tell me what happened?"

Sousuke closed his eyes for a moment, sifting through his thoughts, picking out the bits and pieces he could tell her safely.

"An important person was captured while visiting Vietnam, we had intelligence stating he was being held in one of 3 possible locations, Myself and 2 other's were dispatched to observe these locations. The person of interest was not at the location I was to investigate. However to verify this, I was forced to allow myself to be captured so as to gain access to the village, as it was too heavily defended to sneak in. I was interrogated about why I was there, that being the source of most of my injuries. After verifying the target was not there, I made my escape, and was wounded in my escape as well."

Kaname sat in silence, mulling over his words. One word stood out, 'interrogated' someone had interrogated her Sousuke, someone had beaten him while he was helpless. Snap! Looking down in surprise, she realized she had snapped the wood stirring spoon she was holding in two.

"Kaname, please do not worry so much, I am a specialist, I was in very little danger, except for the brief period of time while I was escaping, the men holding me had inadequate training." The look of concern in her eyes had not gone unnoticed.

"Sousuke..." she began seriously "I'm always going to worry when your gone on missions, how can you honestly expect me not too? Just the thought of some weirdo beating you, or some psycho shooting at you...you being...being hurt" she stopped, unable to continue as she fought back tears.

_You idiot, don't you know how scared I am for you?_

She had experienced many nightmares, many sleepless nights, wondering if he would come back this time, if their last words to each other would consist of her yelling at him for leaving, and his apologizing for having to go. Before she knew it his strong arms were wrapped around her securely, pulling her into his chest, he remained silent. This was not the first time she had admitted her fears to him, and it wouldn't be the last he knew. There wasn't any words he could offer her either, Sousuke was not one to give a promise he could not keep, and he couldn't promise he would always return. So he held her, waiting for the comfort his presence gave her to chase all the fears away. They forgot about breakfast, both seemed to have lost their appetite. Instead they walked outside hand in hand, looking for their friends to find out what was planned for the day. As they walked Sousuke had one final thing he needed to tell Kaname.

"4 weeks"

"Sousuke? What do you mean by 4 weeks?" She was confused by his sudden statement, they had 4 weeks of break before school started, is that what he meant?

"I have 4 weeks of leave, somebody altered my leave application it seems, so unless there is need of Arbalest, I am off duty for the next 4 weeks."

"Wow, well that's great Sousuke! Next week while I'm visiting my dad and sister in America you can get plenty of studying done!"

"I was hoping to come with you, to meet your father" Kaname gulped.

"You..want to come with me?" _Crap._

"Affirmative, It would be nice to finally meet your family, I'm sure they would like to meet me"

"Riiiiiight about that Sousuke, I was kinda going to tell my dad about you while I was visiting." _I was hoping he wouldn't try to kill you on the spot._

"I had expected that would happen, all the better reason for me to come along with you" he replied, satisfied that his logic would win her over.

"I hope you know what your getting yourself into Sousuke" _Yup, there's that feeling again...dread. Why me God...why me?_

"I trust you Kaname" he said with emphasis. "You do know though, at some point or another, you will have to tell him about everything though, as your father he has a right to know."

_Jeez Sousuke, do you always have to be so...so...Otaku?_

At that moment Kyoko ran up shouting.

"Kaname! Kaname! Get your purse! We're going shopping!"

Kaname smiled, this was just what she needed. She didn't have much she could spend, the ticket for the flight to visit her father had been expensive, but she had insisted on paying for herself. Still, some time with the girls would do her good, and Sousuke could use some time to relax and heal. She jumped slightly as a cold piece of plastic was pressed into her hand.

"Here" She looked down, it was a credit card, with her name on it.

"Sousuke? What is this? I don't have any credit cards!"

"I took the liberty of adding your name to one of my smaller personal accounts, that card will allow you to access the funds. I have noticed that women enjoy shopping, it seems to serve as a stress release mechanism for them. Do not worry about how much you spend, it is purely a spending account for that purpose." He looked at her seriously for a moment. "Have fun with your friends Kaname"

She looked at him, confused at how he could be so thoughtful and yet still manage to cause so much trouble for himself. Kissing him lightly, but with a hint of more to come, she smiled and ran off after Kyoko, who was heading up the beach to where Ren waited at the entrance to the trail.

_Don't you worry Sousuke, I'll thank you later._

Sousuke smiled as Kaname suddenly veered off towards the beach house, nearly forgetting her purse in her excitement to go shopping with the girls. Turning towards the beach, he started his search for Atsunobu Hayashimizu, with whom he had business to discuss. Business concerning a shadow organization named Mithril.

He found Atsunobu fishing, on a small rocky outcropping slightly south and west of the beach house.

"Mr. Sagara, how nice of you to join me"

"Hayashimizu-sempai, I need to discuss something with you, regarding an opportunity with my employer. But I must first have your promise that our discussion does not go beyond us, in the interest of your welfare."

"How fortunate, as I wish to discuss your 'employer' as well Mr. Sagara" Sousuke swallowed, hard. _Did the intelligence division already contact him?How much does he know?_

"How much longer do you intend on keeping it a secret?"

"Sir?"

"Mrs. Chidori is not just your girlfriend Sousuke, is she. Though I doubt you will tell me why she needs a bodyguard, I have little doubt that is what you are, her bodyguard."

"You are correct." There was no point in denying the truth at this point, not with what he had to say. Sousuke paused, trying to figure out who to ask his next question.

"No need to ask, I promise what we say will not go beyond the two of us."

"I see, thank you. Your supposition is correct, I am Kaname's bodyguard, I am also a soldier. I was assigned to protect Kaname from terrorist forces. Anymore than that I cannot tell you. However, I do have an interesting offer for you." Sousuke paused, waiting to continue.

"Please continue" Atsunobu betrayed nothing, his face the perfectly calm mask he always wore. But behind the mask, his brain was working furiously to dissect Sousuke's statements.

"The intelligence division of my organization has taken a keen interest in you, after much deliberation, a decision was reached to contact you concerning a potential position within our organization." This caught Atsunobu by surprise, he had not anticipated a job offer!

"Just what does your organization do Sousuke?" He didn't expect a very detailed answer, but right now he'd take any clue he could get.

"An anti terrorist organization, not affiliated with any one government or ruling body,

as such we are able to handle problems that larger countries could not. Our work also extends to destabilizing rebellions, preventing wars, and other such things. We are the 'good guys' as Kaname likes to refer to us."

"I see, and are their any details to this offer?" Atsunobu trusted Sousuke, no matter how far fetched it sounded, Sousuke was one of few men who he trusted implicitly, If Sousuke said this was the truth, he'd believe him.

"None that I can give, my message has been delivered you will need this card, there is a number and a pass phrase on it. When you reach a decision, or need more information, call that number. After necessary precautions and verification, they will be able to help you. This is important: after you finish calling that number, call a random number then hang up, it would be very inconvenient were someone to redial that number."

Atsunobu nodded, taking in the information.

"How long do I have?"

"We need an answer in three days."

Atsunobu nodded, setting aside the recent news, he pressed on to an equally important discussion he needed to have with the young soldier.

"Sousuke I assume that Kaname knows the full situation, it would explain her moodiness and depression during your...absences. But I am curious to know, just how do you feel about her? As you know we are approaching our senior year, after that many of us will be parting ways to our own respective schools and professions. Do you intend to stay by her side? Have you two talked about such things?"

He paused to gather his thoughts before continuing. Kaname and Sousuke were important friends to him, he wanted to make sure they had considered their future together. "I know it is not my place to ask such personal questions, but it is obvious to me that you have not had an ordinary childhood, you did not have the opportunities to grow as a person that we had. It would not surprise me that you have not considered your own future, or given thought to what you want or hope to accomplish. It is time you start thinking about such things. If I can be of help to you Sousuke, I would be happy to."

"I have one question Sir. What do you think Love is? I need to understand if I have this...feeling."

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"Kaaaaanaaaaaaaaaame!" Kyoko sang as she ran up behind her friend who was currently trying to choose between a white or blue skirt. As Kaname turned to answer her friend she felt her arm being grabbed, as Kyoko forcefully led her away from the kiosk she had been shopping at and towards a small noodle stand that had several sets of tables setup out front. Ren was already seated there, 3 bowls of steaming noodles waiting patiently with her. The look Ren wore was one of determination.

_Here we go..._

Sitting down, Kaname prepared to receive her interrogation.

"Tell us about you and Sousuke." The question didn't surprise her, more who had asked it, Ren wasn't usually this forward, especially with matters normally considered private.

"What's there to tell? He's my boyfriend, he's a jerk that makes me worry constantly and nearly works me to death trying to keep up with the damage he causes to our school!."

"No Kaname, I think it's time you tell us the whole story about you and Sousuke, not just your relationship, we want to know why he's gone all the time, and why you worry so much. We want the truth Kaname."

Kaname pulled out her cell phone, and with the ease of a well known routine, scrolled to Sousuke's name and hit talk, without even looking at her phone. For once, Kaname Chidori was going to ask someone else what she should say.


	5. perfection shatters

Disclaimer: don't own FMP. So there.

Sousuke had grabbed the phone from his pocket before the first ring had completed purely on instinct. He knew that ring, it was the ring his phone only made when She called. It meant one of two things, either She was in trouble, or He would be if he didn't answer promptly.

"Please excuse me, I must take this." He mumbled, putting some distance between himself and Atsunobu.

"Sagara."

"Sousuke? Uhm…the girls want to know what you do." Kaname saw no point in beating around the bush. _I wish I had more training in covert ops._

"Kaname we have discussed this before, use the standard story and do your best not to deviate from it. An effective interrogator knows that one of the best methods-"

"Sousuke! They aren't that stupid…even Ren isn't backing down." _I really need more training in covert ops._

"I see…" He paused for a moment, considering his words carefully.

"Well as you know, I am under orders to keep my true identity hidden. However, you cannot be held to those orders. I would caution you to be careful with what you reveal though Kaname. The information you reveal could potentially put your friends, you, or me in harm's way. The only advice I can give you is to release as little intel as necessary."

"Sousuke…thank you" her last words were barely a whisper.

Sousuke made his way back to the beach house, thoughtfully munching on a ration bar as he went. Atsunobu stared at a small card in his hand, carefully considering all the information available to him. He would need to make a phone call, when he decided to head back to the beach house.

"So he really is a soldier, not just some military geek?" Kyoko sat back in shock, it was not an easy thing to accept, the fact that Sousuke might not be as harmless as she thought.

"Please, you must promise me you won't tell anybody this!" Kaname's plea was almost desperate.

"But Kaname, what's the big deal, so he's your bodyguard, so he's some mercenary, it's not like he's part of some super-secret government organization or something."

"Kyoko…do you remember when our plane got hijacked? Do you remember on the Christmas trip when our ship was attacked? Who do you think saved us? Saved me?" Kaname questioned, trying to get her point across without saying anything. The gods were not working in Kaname's favor today.

"Just what are you saying?" Breathing in deeply, while squashing the ball of anger in her chest, Kaname leaned into the small table she sat at with her friends, the rest of the girls leaning in as well.

"Sousuke saved me. Those troops that showed up, his teammates. The group he works for, you'll never prove their existence."

Recognition dawned on Kyoko's face. Relaxing slightly, she continued.

"If even the slightest hint of this got out, we could be in danger." Her eyes looked down at the table.

"If that happened, it would be my fault that Soususke was in danger again"

She was too distracted by thoughts of Sousuke in danger, of Sousuke getting hurt trying to save her, fears of Sousuke dieing because of her words. She didn't feel the slender arms belonging to Ren as they wrapped gently around her shoulders, until she spoke.

"It must be hard to watch him go" she said sofly, "knowing he might not come back."

She looked down suddenly, blinking back tears of frustration, realizing that Ren had understood the only thing Kaname wasn't strong enough to bear on her own. The fear of losing her precious one.

The Mood around the campfire was somber. Sousuke sat still, ignoring the pain from his wounds, Kaname pleasantly sleeping against his shoulder. Ren and Atsunobu sat in hushed conversation, and Kyoko poked nervously at the fire.

"Ms. Tokiwa, is something wrong?" He had noticed her tenseness, the usual carefree Kyoko was quiet and forlorn.

"Sousuke have you ever…Killed someone?" she asked hesitantly. The question had been on her mind all afternoon, since Kaname had revealed some information about Sousuke's identity. He hesitated to respond. He would answer truthfully, as he held great distaste for deception. But he did not want to answer this question, some unkown fear assaulted his resolve.

"Yes, I have killed, I cannot give you an accurate number, though it would be safe to estimate that I have ended at least 250 lives personally in my life."

Kyoko tensed visibly at that statement, Sousuke recognized something in her eyes that scared him. He saw fear.

"Why?" was all she could muster in response.

"Because" he replied softly, staring sadly into the fire. "If I didn't kill them, they would kill me"

Ren paused from her conversation with Atsunobu to look over at Sousuke. She had heard every word that passed between him and Kyoko. The pain his eyes betrayed shocked Ren, who was used to his normally emotionless grey eyes.

_So happy together, but they carry so much weight. _She idly thought to herself.

Atsunobu, noticing where Ren's gaze fell, grabbed her attention with a slight brush of his hand to hers. She turned back to him, blushing ever so slightly, her eyes searching his.

"They have a lot to overcome" he whispered to her. She nodded her head in response.

"We shall have to look out for them, I think." Ren nodded her head again, before looking back at the couple in question.

A camera flash brought them back to reality, as they turned to a giggling Kyoko questioningly. She pointed at Sousuke, still fighting to control her laughter. The sight had Ren turning away, and Atsunobu chuckling silently. A sweaty, beet red Sousuke was trying to figure out how to remove Kaname's hand from an embarrassing spot without waking her. Sousuke sighed. _I really can't win. _

A surprised shriek, a resounding slap and a bright camera flash signaled his failure.

Kurz Weber snickered loudly at the antics from his vantage point. Melissa walked up to him silently from behind, passing him a small piece of paper silently.

_So what happened between the girls today?_

Kurz quickly wrote an answer out, before passing the note back to her.

_Nothing of interest. Want to know Kaname's bra size?_

As Kurz walked off to find some ice for his sudden jaw-ache, Melissa couldn't help but sigh in irritation. It was so annoying to have to pass notes like little children, but it couldn't be helped, they would keep Kaname's admission a secret, and that included keeping their story straight. As they were technically on a mission, all audio was recorded, leaving simple notes as the only private communication between them.

This left one thing left for her to accomplish. Writing a quick note, she attached it to a simple combat knife, judged it's landing spot and threw it. The knife landed close to the door to the beach house, just as Sousuke was walking up to it. Reading the note that was tied to the knife, he simply nodded his head, and continued inside.

The incessant beeping of the communications headset woke Melissa out of her reverie. Grabbing it in irritation she grabbed the headset, to notice a text only alert message on the small lcd screen.

**Urgent. Inbound hostile forces, unknown size. Evac enroute, eta 23:51. Secure all noncombatants and prepare for evac . Set AS as SD. End transmission.**

Melissa's blood ran cold, checking her watch, she cringed 22 minutes till evac.

"Shit! Kurz! We got inbound! Get your ass in gear!"

She was already running full speed for the house, a spare weapons bag in tow, a familiar sound was heard in the distance, gunfire. Kurz had found the enemy.

"6 of em, pretty sucky training too, they totally didn't notice me" came Kurz's ever professional status report. Smashing through the door, she was greeted by 4 surprised teens and one specialist already advancing with a kitchen knife. She tossed the bag at Sousuke, before responding to Kurz.

"We don't know if that's all that's out there, withdraw to high ground and cover us!"

Looking to Sousuke she noticed his face was devoid of emotion, he had already switched gears, vacation, it seemed, was on hold.

"Unknown number of hostiles inbound, Kurz has already engaged, apparently they're poorly trained, probably some cheap hired thugs. Evac inbound." Checking her watch again she sighed irritably. Time simply didn't move fast enough some days. "18 minutes"

Sousuke nodded, his attention fixed on the weapons in front of him, an mp5 with special AP ammo, expensive, but effective. Glock 9mm, same AP ammo, 2 concussion grenades, and 3 frag grenades. He contemplated the body armor in the bag, it was 1 size too big. The protection would be nice but the loose fitting garment would create noise, a most undesirable trait. Disregarding the body armor he put on the rest of his equipment. Moving towards the door he looked back at Kaname.

"Melissa, please take care of Kaname and her friends. I will occupy the enemy. Where are they approaching from?" Sousuke was in full military mode. Nobody would hurt Kaname, he would see to that personally.

"North, be carefull" Melissa was already herding the 4 frightened teenagers out the sliding door, it would be easier to protect them at the base camp setup in the forest nearby.

"Sousuke!" Kaname voice was little more than a squeek, she would never really be use to these kind of situations. "Don't be late mister, I don't want to have to go track you down again." Sousuke smirked. Kaname was sure she was hallucinating.

_Great, now I'm seeing things. _

"I'll be there"

Sousuke moved out into the darkness, following the sounds of muffled gunfire.

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Kurz was getting pissed. His nice perch on the hillside had turned into a virtual prison. He had made a rookie mistake by not covering his rear. As such he was now pinned, it was only a matter of time till he was forced to make a move. To make matters worse, a most uncomfortable rock was poking him in the back, it was maddeningly distracting. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down.

_A snipers strength lies in always controlling when he engages, and when to withdraw._

He did not have that luxury. Sudden movement to his right caught his attention, where one of his would be attackers suddenly slumped out into the open, slumped over the bush he had been hiding behind, the telltale glint on his back indicating a knife had found a comfortable spot in his back. He caught a signal light flashing at him from the location of his dead enemy, it was morse code.

**Keep them busy. S S**

Readying his rifle, Kurz turned, firing 3 quick shots at the closest of his opponents, pinning the man down. His action was rewarded a second later by the sound of a glock as the man slumping to the ground, a small steaming hole through his temple. The last attacker in the group fell to the ground much the same way, Kurz fired suppression fire, Sousuke silencing the enemy. Melissa's voice in Kurz's ear had him instantly running towards base camp.

"Sousuke! We gotta move! Now! They're pinned down!"

Kurz pushed himself as fast as he could, ignoring the ache in his back. Looking around, he noticed that Sousuke was already gone. His voice filtered back through the trees, mingled with the sound of the nearby surf.

"Secure the beach"

Kurz altered his direction slightly, moving towards the edge of the surrounding forest, to find a good position on the beach, he could snipe from range while hopefully maintaining adequate cover. Throwing a worried look over his shoulder, he hoped that Sousuke didn't over commit himself. When it came to Kaname, he had a tendency to act before thinking.

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Sousuke came to a stop just outside of the line of vision of the nearest enemy. He counted 5 of them, spread out on an arc, slowly expanding to flank the small encampment that Melissa was trying to defend. Expensive electronics, equipment containers and surrounding terrain had been hastily made into a sort of protective wall, behind which the small group was hiding. They were rapidly running out of time, the would be kidnappers/killers/whatever they were would soon be outflanking Melissa. He charged the nearest enemy, bringing the mp5 to bear, having no time to line up a shot, he simply fired in full auto, covering the area in fire, striking his first victim several times. The other 4 were immediately alerted to his presence, and adjusted their positions to both cover Melissa's position and assault their new threat. Sousuke could only hope Melissa or Kurz would be able to help him. Rolling through a bush as weapons fire peppered the ground he had only just occupided, he tossed a primed concussion grenade, followed by a frag grenade slightly to the right of the first. His judgement had proved correct, the unlucky man had dived to the right behind a large tree, only to find a frag grenade in his lap. Moving to a thick tree about 4 feet in front of him, he exchanged clips on his mp5 and prepared himself for a firefight.

Melissa heard the sound of an mp5 in full auto, and hoped that was Sousuke. A second later, 2 grenades exploded, and she noticed that a lot less gunfire was being directed at them. Now was the time to make their escape. Looking at her charges, she hoped they could manage it, Kyoko was hysterical, Kaname, worried but not overwhelmed. Atsunobu and Ren seemed to be calm, but that was most likely a matter of habit more than anything else.

"let's go!" she barked the order, spurring them in to motion with menace in her voice. They stumbled to their feet, Melissa guiding them towards the beach, if she was right, the transport was due within a few minutes. Listening, she could still hear the mp5 firing, and now only 2 of the unknown enemies rifles could be heard. As they sprinted toward the beach, Melissa could make out a large disturbance over the water, and could feel the excessively strong winds of a helicopter.

_Those dumbasses still have their ecs engaged!_

Ripping her radio out of her pocket she started screaming in to the unit as they ran.

"Damnit drop the ecs and land! We got hostiles behind us we gotta evac now!"

She was greeted almost immediately by a loud burst of noise as the pilots canceled the ecs and the sound dampeners. The 4 teens following her were shocked to say the least, as a dual rotor helicopter seeming appeared out of nowhere, even Kaname who was familiar with some of mithril's aircraft was caught by surprise. 2 men clad in black jumped out immediately, assault rifles scanning the perimeter, as a relieved Kurz came jogging up.

"Yo babe, nice to see ya"

the butt of her rifle was his greeting. Rubbing his now very sore jaw, he asked what seemed to him an obvious question.

"Where's Sousuke?"

Kaname looked back in alarm realizing she didn't know where he was. Before she had the chance to go back and grab the unfortunate soldier, 3 loud explosions and gunfire announced Sousuke's presence. Having run out of ammo, he had fallen back on his only option: Run like hell and hope the transport was there. The two gunners that had accompanied the transport made quick work of the remaining insurgents. Soususke made it into the chopper, which took off as he climbed inside.

Sousuke looked around, taking inventory of everyone present. His eyes focused on Kaname, everyone else seemed to be there too. His vision was blurring, he must have lost more blood than he thought. He wondered how angry Kaname was going to be with him, as his head hit the metal plate of the chopper, he decided that he really did hate shrapnel.

Eh I've rewritten this chapter like 5 times now, just can't seem to get it right in my eyes. Please tolerate the poor quality, I'm not the greatest with fighting scenes, and I couldn't really decide on just how I wanted to to go, so I decided to just write and see what happens. So yeah, I think this chapter is pretty bad, but I'll make it up to you next chapter, which I promise will be much better. I'll try to have it out timely, but it's gonna depend on if I can manage to shake this block I seem to have. Maybe I'm just expecting too much of myself irregardless I hope you enjoy it, and I apologize for how long this took.


	6. Hey Daddy! I'm home!

Disclaimer: don't own FMP or any of it's characters. I just write for fun.

Sousuke woke to find himself in a sterile smelling room. Instincts kicking into gear he quickly examined his surroundings, noting his arms and legs were tied down, his gaze moved past the bed he was lashed to and across very familiar looking medical equipment.

"Ah Sergeant Sagara, your finally awake. You just about worried that poor young lady to death" clucked the middle aged nurse who was currently checking his vitals. She was familiar, he decided, wearing the standard white uniform common among nurses. She must have been one of the nurses to take care of him during his many visits to the infirmary he decided. It was at that moment he noticed her. She was sitting in a plush chair, head slumped in a decidedly uncomfortable position against the wall, her blue hair having a slightly disheveled look. Kaname was no longer wearing the pajama's he remembered her wearing during their escape, but was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple blue top, clothing he remembered her owning.

_The cleanup crew must have already been to the summer home. How long have I been unconscious?_

She appeared to be fine however, much to his relief. Sleeping peacefully, albeit a little uncomfortably.

"You're a lucky one Sergeant, I hear you nearly bled to death on the flight back, though I daresay you'll consider yourself lucky when the young lady wakes up" she chuckled as she walked off, probably to update the doctor on duty of his status. It was of course his luck, he decided, that Kaname would wake up when once there were no witnesses around.

He gulped rather audibly, eyes searching the room frantically, hoping to find a page button. Kaname smiled as she set the sought after device down, safely out of his reach.

Bending down she placed a kiss gently on his lips, adding confusion to the panic in his eyes.

"Thank goodness your allright" she whispered softly, her face lingering just a moment longer over his. In a fraction of a second the moment passed however, and a familiar fire found its way into her eyes.

"Get better fast Sousuke, it's no fun 'educating' an injured man." The way she emphasized educating had Sousuke wondering if it would be possible to get assigned to a mission somewhere, anywhere really.

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Tessa walked quickly threw the corridor, her destination in sight. The Nurse on duty had informed her of Sousuke's status. It was time to check in on her subordinate.

Stopping in front of the door she fussed with her hair for a minute, making sure it was perfect. It should be, she had spent 20 minutes staring in a mirror perfecting it. After one last deep breath, she opened the door-and promptly tripped on the bulkhead. Picking herself up off the cold metal floor, she could feel the fire in her face as she blushed a deep scarlet. Looking up she saw a smirking Chidori, and next to her a confused and sweating Sousuke.

_He looks so nervous_.

Kaname walked over, still wearing that smirk proudly on her face as she bent over to the still kneeling Tessa and asked if she was ok. It was the comment she whispered to Tessa that had her flustered.

"Good thing you didn't come in sooner, that would have been embarrassing" Kaname said smugly. Standing back up she walked back over to Sousuke's bed and sat on it next to him, making a show to rest her hand comfortably upon his lap after stretching her arms. Sousuke in the meantime had gone strangely catatonic during this exchange.

"Sergeant Sagara, I'm glad to see you up. I was hoping to speak with you in private" she paused for a second, hoping Kaname would catch the hint. Kaname only glared in respone.

"I wanted to commend you on your performance last night. But seeing as you have a guest, perhaps I Can persuade you to stop by my quarters this evening to review the events. Goodbye for now, Sergeant Sagara" It had been a valiant effort, to remain calm, blush free while delivering her prepared then slightly modified invitation to him. She may have lost round 1 to Kaname, but she wasn't about to lose the war.

"I uh urghhh!" Sousuke found himself unable to respond as Kaname's smooth hand latched over his mouth.

"he's still a little under the weather from the pain medication and all, I'll repeat your proposition to him later" Kaname replied, more than a hint of icy venom in her voice. The hard stare she delivered screaming 'stay away, he's mine!'

Giving a slight nod of the head, Tessa left the infirmary, heading for the bridge to check on the status of Kaname's family. Some day's it was simply too much trouble being the captain.

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"What?" Kaname shouted in disbelief, causing both Sousuke and Tessa to flinch involuntarily.

"Your father and sister are currently at a Mythril safe house that is near they're home. Our intel stated that they could possibly be targeted as a means to draw you out. We took them into custody to protect them. Of course your father is a member of the UN with some reach among his circles, so simply holding him was not an option, his cooperation is required."

Tessa took a small sip of water before continuing.

"We…no… I was forced to inform of the situation, including the events 2 days ago that lead up to this point. He is aware of Mr. Sagara's existence, though not of his importance to you. That is something you will need to tell him."

Kaname sat back in a state of shock. This was perhaps the worst way her father could have found out. She looked at Sousuke, wondering just how to explain him to her father.

"Kaname" Kaname looked over at Tessa, who had broken her out of her thoughts.

"Your father is on the line, I agreed to let him speak to you. I have arranged to have you on a transport out this evening, you may wish to inform him so that arrangements can be made." Kaname nodded at Tessa, still digesting the information, a million thoughts flowing through her head, breaking apart on the wave of anxiety that was threatening to overwhelm her. Turning to the vid screen on the wall, she heard the door click as Tessa left her and Sousuke alone. Swallowing down the lump rising in her throat. She hit the green talk button on the console. Instantly a picture of a very irritated Shunya Chidori appeared on the screen. Relief flashing across his face momentarily.

"Kaname!" he greeted her, relief evident in his voice.

"Hey daddy." She replied, feeling panic build, she was NOT ready for this conversation.

"Are you ok? Yes Daddy I'm fine, Sousuke protected me." She said this with a bit of pride, her Sousuke had done so well.

"Sousuke." It wasn't a question; really, more of a statement, one that demanded an explanation.

She beckoned to Sousuke to join her in front of the screen, moving slowly he complied.

Without thinking she wrapped her arm around him, mostly out of habit.

"This is Sousuke" _Why is he so stiff? _That's when she realized how she knew he was stiff. Her arm was around him, in plain view of her father. _Crap. _

"I…..see. Hello Sousuke, I presume you are her bodyguard, and apparently, something more. We have a lot to talk about. I have a lot to talk to you about as well Kaname, You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Daddy, Tessa told me we'd be on a flight out this evening, So we should be in New york…" she trailed off, looking at Soususke for help. Through great force of will Sousuke was able to make his jaw work properly.

"Early morning tomorrow. Though that is only an estimate, it will of course depend on what time we leave this evening."

"All right then, I trust these Mythril people can inform me of when you'll be here. Apparently we are out of time" Shunya said, looking past the camera. "I am looking forward to seeing you again Kaname, no matter the conditions." He stated, his voice softening slighty as he turned his eyes back to the camera. "I love you, stay safe."

With that the connection was terminated.

"I love you too, daddy"

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Kyoko sat nervously in the helicopter, unable to forget the events 2 days earlier. Images of Sousuke, bleeding out from his leg wound. A hysterical Kaname holding his hand, rocking back and forth as Kurz and Melissa tried to control the bleeding. The medics loading him onto a stretcher, his face pale and emotionless, Kaname's panicked cries echoing loudly over the whine of the engines. Later she had heard that Sousuke would be fine, which had set her heart at ease. She looked over at the suitcase that Atsunobu held, curious still about what it held. He had assured them it was nothing important, but had been unwilling to explain any more than that. Snuggling back in the chair she sat in, she closed her eyes, attempting to block out the thoughts rampaging in her mind. She was exhausted; physically and mentally, rest would do her good.

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Kaname sat in the transport, impatiently waiting for Sousuke to climb on board.

Why did that stupid captain have to have a talk with him right before he left? Taking a silver case from Tessa, he nodded his head seriously, and headed for the transport. Her curiosity peaked, she wanted to know what was in the box. It was metal, though she couldn't tell what type, smooth cornered, slightly smaller than the size of a briefcase, and it hummed.

"Souske, what's that?" Sousuke thought for a moment before answering.

"Medicine"

"Medicine? Your not lying are you?"

"No, it's medicine for me, because of the injuries I sustained during our escape. This box is refrigerated to preserve them."

"Oh….well forget that, get over here you big idiot! I'm cold!"

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Shunya Chidori sat impatiently, in the wicker chair on the back porch of the Mythril safe house at which he awaited the arrival of his daughter. He found it difficult to believe that a helicopter would soon be landing in the large back yard. Just what kind of secret organization lands a helicopter in the back yard of a house in a prominent residential area? He shivered slightly, despite the humid warmth of the summer night. Checking his watch, he noted the time- 1:15am. They were five minutes late. A sudden gust of wind, much stronger than anyone would expect from anything short of a major storm blew through the yard, strangely no noise could be heard.

"Looks like they're here" said the man he had come to know as Lieutenant Haskins.

He looked out in the yard, and was shocked by the sudden appearance of a helicopter.

The door to the oddly silent helicopter slid open, two men clad in black flight gear jumping out. They each extended a hand out to the occupants that followed them. The female taking the hand, her companion refusing. He watched them approach, as the flight crew climbed back in the craft, door sliding shut. He first examined his daughter, she appeared fine, wearing what appeared to be a summer dress, though in the inadequate lighting the porch provided he was unable to be sure. Her long blue hair flowed elegantly with the wind as she ran up and threw a most inelegant hug around his shoulders. He couldn't help but smile, after all she'd been through, she hadn't changed. Even as he enjoyed his eldest daughter's hug, he turned his eyes upon the stoic young man standing slightly off talking with the ever exuberant Lieutenant Haskins. Separating himself from the talkative soldier, he made his way over to stand just slightly behind Kaname.

"Sousuke is it?"

"Affirmative"

"I understand that you have been protecting my daughter for quite some time. Thank you."

"It is not a problem." The young man responded stiffly.

Obviously talking was not this young man's forte'.

"Well enough chit chat for now, let's head home for now Kaname. Sousuke, it's a pleasure meeting you, I'm sure I'll see you again." The last half came out a bit forced, but manners were important to Shunya.

"Huh?" turning he looked at his daughter, who had separated herself from him. Much to his annoyance, Kaname now stood next to Soususke, her arm around his waist, a familiar fire in her eye.

"Daddy, I'm not going anywhere without Sousuke." He knew that tone, it was a tone that sounded so much similar to her mothers. A tone that told him he'd lost the fight before it even started.

An irritated sigh escaping his lips, he acquiesced. A good politician knew how to pick his fights.

"Fine, we'll talk in the morning, it's late, let's go home, Sousuke shall stay in the guest room." Emphasizing guest a bit stronger than he had intended had brought a sharp look from Kaname. Shunya winced inwardly; she was too much like her mother.

The drive through the upper class neighborhood was quiet, Ayame had fallen back asleep, too tired to keep up the constant stream of questions, most of which had been focused on who Sousuke was and, much to Shunya's annoyance, how far they had gone physically. All he could make out of his daughter was her blue hair, visibly resting against Sousuke's left shoulder. He looked again at the young soldier, amazed that such a young man was capable of so much. He had heard many stories from Haskins, after the operative had learned of Sousuke's identity. He had related many stories he had heard of the Sergeant's exploits, and had pulled up what was available to him of Sousuke's profile.

To say that the young man had seen some action was an understatement. He had been declared KIA twice, wounded in combat 14 times, was classified as an arm slave specialist and was proficient in more weapons than Shunya believed any one person should be allowed.

_Seventeen years old…how could the world have come to such a state that someone that young had so much experience in warfare?_

Having been caught up in his musings, Shunya almost missed the driveway to his house.

Bringing his expedition to a stop, he hit the garage door button, closing the door behind them. Getting out of the SUV after waking Ayame in the passenger seat, he noticed with some annoyance that Sousuke was carrying Kaname bridal style towards the door leading into the house, his daughter's arms around the soldier's neck, her sleepily smiling face pressed in against his chest. True to his nature, Sousuke ruined the moment almost immediately. Setting her up on her feet, the motion waking her up, she looked at him angrily.

"Sousuke! Why did" the words died on her lips as Sousuke pulled out a 9mm pistol from seemingly nowhere. The pistol hadn't surprised her, the look on his face however, Sousuke was in soldier mode.

"Wait here." He was through the door a second later.

Time seemed to stop for Kaname, her breath came agonizingly slow, a million worries flooding her mind. Had they found her? Was Sousuke about to look like an idiot? Were they in danger? Was Sousuke about to look like an idiot? Her answer came not a moment later as Sousuke reappeared; dragging what appeared to be a woman with him. Slamming her to the ground he pressed his gun to her head.

"You have 3 seconds to identify"

"A ghost needs 4"

Sousuke relaxed, allowing the woman to stand up.

"You were a bit rough there Sergeant Sagara" the woman said in a bitter tone.

"You did not leave the appropriate signal in place."

Kaname couldn't stand it any longer.

"Sousuke! Who is this woman?" she demanded, simultaneously latching on to his arm and moving herself between him and the unknown woman. The woman had nice curves, and the only curves Sousuke should be looking at belonged to Kaname Chidori.

"I'm hurt you don't remember me, Mrs. Chidori, after all, I escorted you to our good sergeant here during his…trip to Hong Kong."

Realization struck like a paper halisen.

"Wraith"

Smiling, the woman nodded, then walked over to the doorway leading into the house, where she promptly pressed the garage door switch. Walking towards the now opening door, she looked at Sousuke briefly.

"Found a line tap, it's being traced now. The house is now secure; I hope you can keep it that way…and in one piece." Shunya could only wonder at the last comment.

"Kaname, who was that?" Shunya asked, clearly confused.

"Wraith is an operative that watches over Kaname when a mission requires my particular skills." Sousuke answered easily, as Kaname pulled the soldier along into the house.

Shunya decided to give up at that point, after all, it was late and all of them were exhausted. After seeing a disappointed Ayame to bed, he came out into the upstairs hallway to hear a hushed conversation between his daughter and her bodyguard.

"Sousuke, you are NOT going to setup up any security perimeter tonight. I haven't forgotten, you nearly died 2 days ago from that wound to your leg, your still limping! Now go lay down and get some sleep! I know your exhausted. If I find out you were up late doing otaku stuff I'll make sure your unable to do anything but rest, understand?"

Shunya couldn't help but flinch, Kaname really was like her mother, only scarier. He found himself pitying the young soldier.

"Yes Kaname, I understand, but keep this with you, press this switch if you need me."

"Fine fine, now go to bed you moody military maniac! God what would you do without me?"

The sound of 2 doors closing simultaneously told Shunya it was time for him to go to bed as well. Yawning, he walked into his room, not even bothering to change, he flopped down on his bed. Today was certainly an interesting day. He didn't notice the vanilla folder on his dresser, despite it being almost an inch thick.

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Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, Wraith placed a call to a submarine in the pacific ocean.

"Hello" answered the rich voice of Andrey Khalinin.

"I left the envelope where you asked me to. I hope you know what your doing."

"That man has enough pull in the UN to cause us trouble if he so wanted. He must trust Sergeant Sagara. His dossier is the best way to show Chidori who the sergeant is. I must trust him to be open minded."

"Yeah I know but…you really should have censored the repair bills for Jindai."

"It's too late now."

The line clicked. Putting her phone away, wraith moved towards the safe house to replenish necessary equipment. Tomorrow would prove to be an interesting day, and she wanted ring side seats.

A/n: ok much shorter than I was expecting, it just ended up feeling better to me ending the chapter on their arrival home, and going to bed. Next chapter: Trials of a specialist. Is already in development. Thank you for your patience, I am trying to be more timely in my chapter posting, as life allows.


	7. Breakfast is fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own Full metal panic, or anything really, aside from my car, computer and a few stocks.

Well, chapter 7 is completed. Sousuke may seem a lil OOC towards the end but remember, he's healing and exhausted, so his guard is down a bit. I'm a little out of touch with the characters so I don't think I pulled them off quite right, but I was in a rush to post this tonight as I wanted to make sure I at least made an effort to start trying to finish this story off. I've lost my notes so it's gonna be figured out as I go. I'm planning on sketching out chapter 8 this week and hopefully getting it written out next weekend. As long as I don't have to work that should happen, we shall see. Hope you enjoy :)

* * *

He rolled off of his bed promptly at 6am, his internal alarm clock waking him as it did everyday. Without a thought he started into his calisthenics, until his still wounded leg reminded him of its presence. Deciding he had done enough stretching, he grabbed the metal case that rested on the dresser, a power plug connected to the wall outlet. Punching a 4 digit sequence onto the numeric pad, the small case made an audible click, after which Sousuke opened it. Withdrawing an aluminum cylinder containing an odd greenish liquid, he set it on the nightstand of the bed. Dropping his pants, he grabbed the cylinder, pressing it against his wound after slightly peeling back the bandage. Hissing slightly from the painful contact, he pressed a small indent on top of the cylinder. A gaseous sound emitted from the cylinder, just as a blue haired troublemaker silently opened the door, determined to give Sousuke a 'proper' good morning before her daddy woke up.

It should be said that Kaname had made a lot of progress in the last few months.

Unfortunately, no matter how much self control you learn, no matter much you improve your patience, you can't escape who you are. At 6 in the morning, Kaname Chidori was just true to her nature.

"SOUSUKE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" she shouted, her voice a mix of anger and surprise.

"Good morning Kaname" He flinched as he greeted her, as much as he hoped his day wouldn't start this way, he really should have expected it.

_Note to self, get up at 5:30 tomorrow._

Before Kaname could administer a proper interrogation to the prisoner, her father showed up, sparing Sousuke a fate worse than death.

"What is going on here? Young lady why are you shouting? And why doesn't Mr. Sagara have any pants on!?" His voice picked up a note of distress as he finished his statement.

"That's what I want to know daddy" Kaname answered, the fire in her eyes causing the young sergeant to gulp.

"Uh….." Sousuke really needed to work on functioning in these kind of situations.

"As soon as I interrogate the prisoner, I'll tell you"He just knew that at this point his current injury was a meaningless detail to her. _Shit._

Shunya stepped back from his daughter without realizing it, the sadistic grin on her face and the dark aura she exhumed was…frightening. Idly wondering to himself if he should consider contacting a priest, he backed slowly out of the room, even as the young soldier was dressing himself, all the while sweating horribly.

"Kaname, please allow our **guest** to finish dressing." His words were polite, his tone left no room for discussion. It was at that point that Kaname's sleep addled mind realized two things.

Sousuke was only wearing boxers.

Sousuke looked really really good in said boxers.

(Hey who can count that early in the morning) Her father was watching her watch her nearly naked boyfriend.

Committing the image to memory, she stormed off to her room, plotting the poor sergeant's lengthy interrogation. Sousuke sighed to himself, pulling a simple white t-shirt over his head. _Where are the forces of evil when you need them?_

Shunya Chidori sat comfortably in his chair at the kitchen table, enjoying the rare treat of his oldest daughter preparing him breakfast. Movement out of the corner of his right eye caught his attention as that young man his daughter had brought home with her came walking in. His eyes tracked instantly to the soldiers left leg, where he had seen that horrible wound earlier this morning. He watched in silence as Sousuke slowly slipped into his seat, obviously favoring the wounded leg. He glanced to his eldest daughter, in time to catch the look on her face. It was a look of concern, tainted by guilt.

He could only imagine what the two had gone through, from what he had heard from the mithril people. He had barely had a chance to look through the young sergeant's dossier, glancing through the first few pages, which contained what little background history they had on him, along with a brief service history and documented abilities.

"Kaname, don't burn the eggs."

Shaking out of her reverie, Kaname turned back to the breakfast she was preparing. Too many things were bothering her, that injury of Sousuke's, just how bad was it? What was that thing he had injected himself with? What did her father think of him? She had originally planned on grooming Sousuke in the day's leading up to their trip here, hoping to impress her dad. Now she was here, her dad learning about Sousuke in the worst way possible. Well, not the worst, but pretty bad nonetheless, and this was a situation that none of Sousuke's training would help him handle. She could only hope he wouldn't fall back on old habits. _God help me, we are so screwed._

Breakfast started out relatively quiet. The eggs were quite delicious, if a bit overcooked, the toast was crispy with just enough butter to taste without risking sogginess and the orange juice was fresh. Yes, it started out positively nice, until Kaname started talking.

"Sousuke… I'm gonna be nice." _Shit. _Nice never meant nice… nice meant bad, very bad.

Shunya saw Sousuke tense up at that statement, and marveled at just how much sweat the young man's head could produce in a short amount of time. _So he understands what she really meant. Impressive…poor bastard. _It was difficult not to sympathize with the young soldier.

"What. Was. That. Green. Stuff." Each word punctuated by a finger jab to his left shoulder. Taking a quick drink of his juice to help replenish his rapidly dehydrating body, Sousuke considered how much of her question he could answer.

"It is a suspension of basic proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins plus a serum to induce rapid cellular regeneration. It was created to help return soldiers to the battlefield at an accelerated pace. Don't forget Kaname, only three days earlier I received a shrapnel wound in my left leg, which damaged the superficial femoral artery, resulting in sever blood loss and nearly my death."

His report was quick, concise and to the point, and it scared Shunya how matter of factly the young man spoke about his near death. The description of the injury had caused his daughter's head to turn down, normally proud shoulders slumped. He wasn't sure what bothered him more, that a young man would be forced to be in this situation, or that it affected his daughter so severely.

"A wound like this would normally keep me out of active service for several weeks, barring any required physical therapy. This serum is effective enough that I was able to continue with our plans to visit your father, though there are some side effects, I am far more tired than usual, and I have noticed a distinct increase in my appetite, I consumed several ration bars last night at times where I would normally be re-" To her credit, Kaname had in an impressive display of speed shoved an entire piece of toast in his mouth. "Not another word unless it is to tell me how long till your healed. I still can't get the sight of you bleeding to death out of my mind!" She didn't mean to shout, but it was hard, watching someone you love nearly die. It didn't help at all that it was because he was protecting her. After some choking, several smacks on the back that were "full of feeling" and then a moment or two of gasping for air Sousuke manage to answer her.

"By tomorrow afternoon according to the attending physician. The serious injury has already healed, at this point it is merely a flesh wound." Shunya snorted at that, getting a look from both of the teenagers. He had seen that wound, it was not something he would consider a "mere flesh wound." The predatory look on his daughter's face was hard to ignore.

"I see. Yes, that will do just fine. I expect to know immediately when you are fully healed Sousuke. Because then we will be _discussing_ why you broke one of your operating parameters." She smirked at the way he flinched when she said "discussing." _Good, fear is good. Learn to embrace that you military moron._ He was ok, just healing; which meant it was time to be angry again.

"uh…" Shunya winced at the young man's choice of words, and felt pity for him, all while slowly sliding his chair away from the table. That dark purple aura Kaname was giving off was damn creepy. He found himself wondering who really needed a bodyguard.

"Sousuke, does your organization employ any members of the catholic priesthood?" It was an innocent, but increasingly important question that needed asking.

"Not to my knowledge sir, but It would be feasible to inquire about next time I am in communication with my superiors." The young soldier answered helpfully. "Sousuke won't be communicating with his superiors till the end of his vacation." Kaname interjected forcefully. "Right? Souuuuuuuuusuke?" He knew that look, for some reason it made him think of a praying mantis. A hungry praying mantis.

"Uh… affirmative." Sousuke's self-preservation instincts had gotten him this far, he wasn't about to start doubting them now. An awkward silence settled over the table, a muffled thump followed by an exclamation of pain signaled that Ayame was awake.

Shunya let out a sigh, telling Kaname to prepare a plate for her sister before heading upstairs to study up on the young sergeant's file some more. _Please Ayame be a good girl._ "Sousuke go up to your room and rest, I'll be up in a bit. I'm not through with you yet." _Kaname, please PLEASE be a good girl._

"Understood." Shunya wasn't sure how he knew it was coming, but he knew. "SOUSKE YOU IDIOT I'M NOT YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND START TALKING LIKE A REGULAR HUMAN!"

"SOUSUKE YOU FORGOT MY MORNING KISS!" _Shit. Even I know better than that._

"WHAT WAS THAT?" _Crap! _

"NOTHING DADDY, JUST uh… SEEING IF YOU WERE AWAKE AHAHAHAHA" Nervous laughter rings throughout the kitchen. _Please believe me Please believe me._

"Hey uh… Sousuke! Why are you blushing? Have you and my sister kissed before? Have you seen her naked? Hey don't close your door I'm trying to get to know my future brother in law! Sousuke!" A door clicks open. _Did she just?_

"Uh…"

"WOW you have scars all over! How COOL!" This caught Shunya's attention. It was bad enough having one daughter chasing boys. _ Oh hell no… Did I really almost say that?_

"SOUSUKE CLOSE YOUR DOOR!... AFTER AYAME GET'S OUT! AYAME GO DOWNSTAIRS AND EAT YOUR BREAKFAST THEN BACK TO YOUR ROOM AND DO HOMEWORK!" He couldn't remember the last time he had needed to yell in his own home. He found himself wishing for an alcoholic beverage.

"Uh…" Sousuke at that point was still trying to process why the young girl had barged into his room while he was changing the dressing on his wound.

"SOUSUKE JUST CLOSE THE DOOR LIKE DADDY SAID! I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU IN A FEW" _What?_

"KANAME!" It occurred to him that maybe Kaname was the one to be worried about, not Sousuke.

"DON'T BE A PERVERT DADDY! HE'S HURT!" _It's not me being a pervert I'm worried about._

Shunya Chidori was far too old for this much excitement. Closing his regrettably not sound proof door he started to read the young man's file again. _My god…this repair bill must be a mistake._ He would have to talk to Kaname later today and see if she knew anything about this "full monty" bacteria incident, most of the report was curiously blacked out with what appeared to be a sharpy.

* * *

It had long been one of Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin traditions after a stressful day in the office to take a nice whiff of a sharpie. Something about those wonderful little markers was just so relaxing to him. Except today he would get no such satisfaction, every single one was bone dry. _You owe me Sagara._

* * *

"Sousuke." It was a simple request, from a father to his daughter's boyfriend. Armed and dangerous boyfriend. "Whenever Kaname is in your room, I expect this door to remain open, understood?"

"Uh…" He was sweating already. "Sir, I can only promise that I will attempt to keep the door open. I have found in the past that if Kaname want's something, she gets it sir. To this point my safety has not necessarily been a paramount concern in regards to achieving her objectives and with all due respect, I would like to do more than just sit in my room healing sir." It was an honest, sincere answer. To Shunya Chidori's utter dismay, he agreed with the young man. His daughter was far too much like her mother. He looked up suddenly in alarm. "Have you been intimate with my daughter?"

"Uh…" He growled. _Wrong answer._

"Mind if I answer for the idiot?" Shunya was suddenly reminded of the sound gravel makes when it is scrapped over concrete. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to turn around and properly address Kaname. Maybe it had something to do with how alarmingly fast Sousuke's face had somehow managed to match the color of his white bed sheets. Stalking past her father Kaname walked up to Sousuke, glaring at him. Shunya was reminded of a Lioness stalking dinner.

"Trust me Daddy." She said sweetly. "He wouldn't know an opportunity if it punched him in the face. Several. Times." She oozed frustration. His body told him to flee. Don't fight, just flee. "Souske hasn't done ANYTHING indecent to me Daddy." The way that last statement was said convinced Shunya of one thing. Two things actually, but who's counting?

One. The fact that Sousuke hadn't done anything indecent to her was a problem, one that was clearly putting the young man in danger.

Two. He had probably just guaranteed the unfortunate young man several hard to notice and possibly life changing injuries.

Three. (again, who's counting?) He REALLY needed a drink. Stiff. Probably two.

"I'm going to go lie down for a bit." To his credit, he didn't run.

"Have a good nap Daddy!" _Perhaps she's bipolar. Maybe I can get her in to see a doctor tomorrow…_

"Sousuke, you look tired, take a nap, I'll join you after my shower." After he didn't respond she tracked his line of sight to her chest. _Good boy._ It seems taking her bra off before letting him know she was taking a shower had been a good idea after all. As she walked out of the room she didn't even attempt to hide her grin, all the while putting a little extra sway in her step.

"Uh…" _Very good boy._

"Lay down Sousuke, I"ll be back soon."

"Yes Kaname." _I need to listen to Ren more often._


End file.
